The main purpose of Core A is to provide essential administrative support for all program-related activities and to interface with the National Institutes of Health, the University of Mississippi Medical Center administration, and the Grants and Contracts office, the Department of Physiology and other departments represented in the Program Project, and the investigators of the Program Project Grant. The staff of this core is responsible for purchasing and fiscal management, personnel, program-related travel by the investigators and visits by invited consultants and speakers, and annual reports to the National Institutes of Health. The administrative core also disseminates important information to the program investigators, organizes scientific meetings and seminars related to the program, and coordinates assessment of research progress by the Internal and External Advisory Committees.